Polymeric membranes are well known and used for variety of applications such as gas separation membranes, probing assemblies involving flexible membrane structures and similar applications.
To manufacture such polymeric membranes, a wide range of materials are used which include polyamides, polyimides, polyesters, polycarbonates, copolycarbonate esters, polyethers, polyetherketones, polyetherimides, polyethersulfones, polysulfones, polyvinylidene fluoride, polybenzimidazoles, polybenzoxazoles, polyacrylonitrile, cellulosic derivatives, polyazoaromaties, poly(2,6-dimethylphenylene oxide), polyphenylene oxides, polyureas, polyurethanes, polyhydrazides, polyazomethines, polyacetals, cellulose acetates, cellulose nitrate, ethyl cellulose, styrene-acrylonitrile copolymers, brominated poly(xylylene oxide), sulfonated poly(xylylene oxide), tetrahalogen-substituted polycarbonates, tetrahalogen-substituted polyesters, tetrahalogen-substituted polycarbonate esters, polyquinoxaline, polyamideimides, polyamide esters, polysiloxanes, polyacetylenes, polyphosphazenes, polyethylenes, polyphenylenes, poly(4-methylpentene), poly(trimethylsilylpropyne), poly(trialkylsilylacetylenes), polyureas, polyurethanes, and so-called ladder polymers, blends thereof, copolymers thereof; substituted materials thereof, and the like. It is further anticipated that polymerizable substances, that is, materials which cure to form a polymer, such as vulcanizable siloxanes and the like, may be suitable for making gas separation membranes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,380 relates to polymeric composite or asymmetric gas separation membranes, particularly, polymeric gas separation membranes in which the morphology of the membrane is designed to increase the entropic selectivity effects of the membrane; and a process for the fabrication of such membranes.
A membrane probing assembly, for example, is exemplified by the device shown in Rath European Patent Pub. No. 259,163A2. This device has the central portion of the sheet-like membrane mounted directly against a rigid support. This rigid support, in turn, is connected by a resilient member comprising an elastomeric or rubber block to the main body of the assembly so that the membrane can tilt to match the tilt of the device. Huff (U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,383) shows a closely related device wherein radially extending leaf springs permit vertical axis movement of the rigid support while preventing it from tilting so that there is no slippage or “misalignment” of the contact bumps on the pads and further so that the entire membrane will shift slightly in the horizontal plane to allow the contacts to “scrub” across their respective pads in order to clear surface oxides from these pads. The test probe system is directed to providing an oxide-abrading scrubbing motion to scrub the contacts residing on a membrane probe card. The membrane used is simply stated to be stretchable.
A second conventional form of membrane probing assembly is exemplified by the device shown in Barsotti (European Patent Pub. No. 304,868A2). This device provides a flexible backing for the central or contact-carrying portion of the flexible membrane. In Barsotti, the membrane is directly backed by an elastomeric member and this member, in turn, is backed by a rigid support so that minor height variations between the contacts or pads can be accommodated. It is also possible to use positive-pressure air, negative-pressure air, liquid or an unbacked elastomer to provide flexible backing for the membrane, as shown in Gangroth U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,339.
It is also known in the art to provide magnetically active flexible polymers. U.S. Pat. No. 6,476,113 relates to thermosetting and thermoplastic elastomers having magnetic filler packed within the elastomeric matrix and capable of being aligned and energized, before, during or after the molding of the elastomer. The magnetically-filled elastomers therefore provide useful permanent magnetic fields which being physically soft. The magnetic filler is aligned within the elastomeric matrix and energized by subjecting the magnetically-filled elastomer to magnetic energy before, during and/or after molding of the magnetically-filled elastomer. Vibration dampening devices employing elastomers and, more particularly, the magnetically-filled elastomers of U.S. Pat. No. 6,476,113 are also provided. In this invention the metallic or alloy particles are embedded in the elastomeric membrane adapted to be magnetized.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,667,360 is a patent entitled ‘Nanoparticle-filled polymers’ discloses polymer nanocomposite comprising: a. about 50-99 weight % polymer resin and b. about 1-50 weight % crystalline nanoparticles having particle size from about 1 nm to less than about 100 nm; a narrow particle size distribution and a chemically clean surface, said nanoparticles consisting of one or more metals, one or more metal oxides, one or more metal nitrides, one or more metal carbides, one or more metal sulfides, one or more metal fluorides, one or more metal chlorides, or a mixture thereof, wherein said polymer resin is chosen from the group consisting of: epoxy, polycarbonate, silicone, polyester, polyether, polyolefin, synthetic rubber, polyurethane, nylon, polystyrene, polyphenylene oxide, and polyketone and copolymers and blends thereof. Such filled polymers are directed to achieve improved mechanical/chemical properties, including scratch resistance, increased modulus while maintaining good ductility, also such polymers having improved dimensional stability for intended application as optical lens, epoxy-fiberglass composites, magnetic tape, paints and the like.
Thus the above mentioned state of the art reveals some applications and uses of electrometric membranes for various end use/applications. There is however no magnetic actuation of the membrane as an actuation system being targeted by any of such said prior arts.
It is also well known in the treatment of cardio thorasic ailments/disorders, that there is a lot of interest world wide on developing artificial hearts for a variety of purposes which involve artificially supporting the functioning of the heart by way of some external pumping actions.                1. For temporary support as a bridge to recovery of the native heart which is temporarily malfunctional.        2. For more long-term support, as a bridge to transplantation, to allow patients listed for heart transplant to survive till a suitable donor heart is found.        3. Long term support for an indefinite period, so called “destination therapy”.        
It is also known in related art that in most of the several pulsatile pumps which are currently available, a biocompatible polyurethane membrane is used whose displacement causes the blood to be shifted and pumped. This polyurethane is typically displaced, either pneumatically or by using an electric current. In both instances, when the pump itself is implanted inside the human body, the cables, enabling the said displacement either actuated electrically or pneumatically, have to traverse the skin barrier to enter the body and come out, leading to inevitable, high rate of infectious complications.
Thus the existing pulsating artificial heart pumps, generally, employing pneumatic, electrical or magnetic means for their functioning suffered from the limitations wherein the conductor for carrying the air or electrical current has to cross the skin barrier physically needing external source of power supply and this lead to complications due to infections. There has thus been a need in the art for driving artificial heart support systems involving preferably magnetic actuation, providing the energy transferred from outside the body without such crossing of the skin barrier or any physical connectivity of energy source through the body, thus avoiding chances of infection and related complications.
Several attempts have been made in this direction to develop an artificial heart pump made of biocompatible material ensuring desired reliable functional performance as an alternative to conventional pneumatic or electrically operated heart assist, device to be replaced with magnetically actuated cardiac assisting device to provide total support for different kinds of heart ailments.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,228 is a prior patent by Royalty et al. which discloses an ‘electromagnetic bi-ventricular assist device’. It basically consisted of a magnetic mat, an assembly of electromagnet, a transducer and a control circuit to regulate the compressive force applied to the heart. The magnetic mat, is a permanent magnet made from a flexible ferromagnetic material like samarium-cobalt, neodymium-iron or any superconductive material and coated with polyvinyl chloride or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) so that the exterior surface of the mat does not react with blood, tissues or organs. The mat can be positioned between heart and the pericardium to facilitate compression action of the heart/ventricle or selectively disposed anterior to both the heart and the pericardium. The mat is installed at site supported by strong and flexible mono-filament surgical threads for holding the mat with the rib cage or sternum.
The magnetic mat of the above cited prior art also involves an electromagnetic assembly mounted externally on the chest to control the desired degree of compression by said electromagnetic device which generates and discontinues alternately, electromagnetic field of desired intensity, in order to alternately compress the mat against vertebral body and then permit the mat to relax, thereby assisting the pumping function of the heart by applying compressive force only. A transducer attached to the electromagnetic assembly on the side opposite to the chest by rigid harness. The harness may include shoulder straps to prevent undesired vertical movement of the electromagnetic assembly when a person is in upright position. The transducer is the part of a feed-back control loop. When the electromagnetic assembly generates an electromagnetic field to repel the mat, an equal and opposite force is applied to the electromagnetic assembly itself, thus repelling the assembly away from the chest. Thus the electromagnetic field so generated by the assembly leads to compression of the pressure transducer in between the electromagnetic assembly and the harness. The transducer senses this compressive pressure and gives a voltage output, which is proportional to this pressure. A control circuit receives the signal generated by the transducer and controls the intensity of the electromagnetic field generated by the electromagnetic assembly as a function of the electromagnetic signal. This enables the control circuit to effectively control the degree to which the mat compresses the heart.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,099,460 discloses that a heart may be artificially contracted to pump blood by separate electromagnets on the exterior surface to the heart and by implanting another electromagnet inside any chamber of the heart and allowing controlled electric current through said selectively disposed electromagnet to attract each other in pair so as to co-operatively actuate pumping of the blood out of a heart chamber by the attraction of the electromagnets due to the magnetic fields created.
WO 00/61227 states that a heart can be artificially contracted to pump blood from the heart chamber using an artificial device that employs an electromagnetic force. The device includes electromagnetic coils attached to the ribs and permanent magnets placed adjacent to the electromagnetic coils. When a direct electric current is applied to the electromagnetic coils, the magnetic fields from the electromagnets and the permanent magnets interact so that the permanent magnets are repelled so as to apply contraction force causing blood pumping assistance for the heart.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,529 teaches about aiding the compression and relaxation of a heart chamber using ferromagnetic and diamagnetic pellets inserted into the anterior and posterior walls of the chamber. The pellets are inserted into the myocardial walls of the heart chamber by means of a delivery catheter. Electromagnetic fields, which are used to push and pull the pellets to compress and relax the hear chamber, are cyclically generated by electromagnetic field generators positioned on a patient's chest and back wall.
It is however experienced that the above state of the art of artificial heart pumping gadgets presently available and in use have some inherent complexities. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,228 involved placing the magnetic mat in between the heart and the pericardium requiring removal of a large amount of body tissues from this region by complex surgery. Further, the attachment of the magnetic mat/electromagnetic coils with the rib cage by flexible mono-filament threads also involves risks of being torn apart. Moreover, such magnetic mat/magnetic field due to electromagnetic attraction being compressive type, the external electromagnet assembly can only compress the heart to push out blood through the arteries but it cannot expand on its own to come back to its diastolic mode. Thus such a device is not capable of assisting heart ailments needing support for diastolic process too. Although U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,529 is directed to electromagnetic system that assist both systolic and diastolic ventricular function and that the electromagnetic assemblies are placed on chest and back wall, the insertion of ferromagnetic and diamagnetic pellets into the selective walls of the heart chamber is a very complex process and involve high cost and risk for implementing such process, affecting viability and easy adaptation to common heart patients at large.
Some of the most recently introduced cardiac assist devices in the art, are learnt to have used electric and pneumatic activation of a polyurethane membrane. Magnetic actuation to achieve consistent mechanical output as displacement pump has not yet been attempted or produced in a commercially viable form such as for cardiac assist and other organ disorder support purposes.